You no longer need the latest car to keep track of vital vehicle data--only the latest app for your smart phone. The Apps for Vehicles Challenge, announced in October by the U.S. Department of Energy, is a competition aimed at creating innovative and accessible apps that employ vehicle information to help drivers improve fuel efficiency and safety.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will invest as much as $10 million in the development of battery-electric trucks, forklifts and other cargo vehicles in a further attempt to cut petroleum use by the domestic transportation industry.

If the mainstream media has reported on the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) loan guarantees for advanced technologies, it's been about the controversy. Solyndra! But here's the news you probably haven't heard: the federal government loan guarantees will cost the American public about 46 percent less than originally estimated because many of the green tech companies are paying back the loans quicker than expected, according to one report.

Carbon Motors, maker of the purpose-built E7 police car, won't receive the $310 million in U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) loans under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program that it applied for almost three years ago, and said that it's a victim of politics.

Carbon Motors, maker of the purpose-built E7 police car, won't receive the $310 million in U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) loans under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program that it applied for almost three years ago, and said that it's a victim of politics.

The state of Hawaii is ramping up efforts to encourage electric-vehicle adoption by increasing the number of electric vehicle and charging station rebates it gives out this year. There's little wonder why this is important, since Hawaii is the country's most oil-dependent state and is looking to boost renewable-energy use.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu estimates that plug-in vehicle battery costs will have dropped 70 percent between 2008 and 2015 and will fall another 58 percent between 2015 and 2020, giving hope to electric-drive vehicle advocates that the price premium for plug-ins relative to conventional vehicles will narrow during the next few years. Chu also said that the U.S. Energy Department is opening a research center dedicated to improve battery and energy-storage technologies for the transportation